Crate.



' P. D. PEARCE.

CRATE.

APPLICATION FlLED MAR. 4. 1915.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- W/fness es jnuenfor Pe 7 6/ 5; Pea/c e P. D. PEARCE.

CRATE.

1 APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1915. 1,172,307. I Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR J m! Pefel pe arse A TTORNEYS.

. tirnirnp srairss earner opinion.

PETER; D. PEARCE, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

CRATE.

Lit-2.307.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that 1, PETER D. France, a citizen of the United States of America. residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'Crates; and 1 do hereby declare the follow vantage and utility as will more fully appear as the description progresses which will fully and specifically set torthsaid features. reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the crate with the top removed and with portions broken away to disclose the means by which the sections or" the crate are held together. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the member used inmaking the top or bottom of the crate. Fig. 3 is a side view of one of the elements used in binding the top and bottom to the rest of the crate. Fig. t is a perspective View of the encircling wire which secures the sides and ends of the crate together. Fig.5 is an end elevation; and Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the crate.

Similar reference characters refer to similar partsthroughout the several views of the drawing. f f In the construction of the preferred form of crate as shown in the accompanying drawings, sides are provided including upper and lower horizontal members 1 and 2 spaced apart and connected by vertical slats 3, the slats terminating at their ends a short distance from the upper and lower edges of the members 1 and 2 respectively. A portion is cut away at each end and on the underside of the upper members 1 and, similairlyja portion is cut away at each end and the upper side of each of themembersZ whereby each of said members 1 and 2 terminate in a reduced portion las shown.

Each of the ends comprise upper and lower horizontal members 5' spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the members 1 and 2 of the side pieces ofthe crate and having secured therebetween vertical slats 6 which likewise at their ends Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, Mild.

Application filed March 4, 1915. Serial No. 12,033.

terminate a short distance below the upper edge or" the upper member 5 and a distance above the lower edge of the lower member 5 of said end pieces. In like manner each of the upper members 5 has a portion cut away at its ends and at the upper edge thereof, and each of the lower members 5 has a portion cut away at the end and at the lower edges thereof so that said members 5 terminate at their ends in reduced portions 7 which when the side and end pieces are brought together as shown in Fig. 1, fit into the openings made by cutting away the similar portions from the members 1 and 2 of the side pieces. It will be observed that with side and end pieces thus made they may be fitted together to form an open ended closure and that the portions 4:

and 7 upon the side and end pieces of the crate interengage as shown in Fig. 1, and that the upper and lower ends of the slats 3 and 6 will lie substantially in the same plane a short distance below and above, respectively, the upper and lower edges of the members 1, 2 and 5.

The top and bottom members of the crate completing the closure each consists of a pair of spaced apart members 8 connected by slats 9, the ends of said slats also terminating a short distance from the outer edges of the members 8 with a top and bottom. Thus constructed the crate may be completed by insertion of a bottom with the slats above the members 8 and a top with the v slats below the members 8, the ends of members 8 resting upon the members 1 and 2 of the sides of the crate and with the slats 9 at their endsmeeting; the upper and lower ends of slats 6. It will be observed in this connection that when the'crate is thus completed the entire inner surface thereof, against which articles placed in the crate will rest. is smooth without any projecting pieces of any kind whatsoever. This is an important feature of the invention especially as these crates are designed to be used in the transportation of fruit and it is a prime necessity that containers of fruit used in the transportation thereof shall be smooth interiorly so that no bruising of the fruit shall occur.

This crate is adapted to be knocked down and each of the sides and ends, top and bottom are made separately and are in no manner permanently connected to the other parts sothat the crate occupies little space in transportation when it is to be returned after once being used to ship articles. The sides and ends are placed together as indicated in Fig. 1, and as a means ofretaining them in position I have provided the binding device indicated at 10 and best shown in Fig. 1 which consists of a wire band shaped to encircle the sides and ends of the crate immediately below the members 1 and 5 and above the members 2 and 5 of the sides and ends of the crate, each of said devices 10 at one side thereof being broken and one end formed into a ring 11 with the adjoining end shaped into a locking element 12 adapted to be inserted through said ring 11. In the application of said devices to the crate they are placed thereon in the positions indicated and the locking element 12 inserted through ring 11 and so positioned that the upper of said devices will have its locking element 12 extending upwardly and on the inner side of an end piece 5 and the lower of said locking devices will project downwardly, also on the inside of a member 5. WVith this construction the sides and ends of the crate will be bound firmly together and cannot be separated except by disengagement of the elements 12 from the rings 11; and it will be noted that when the crate is filled with fruit or other articles of merchandise the locking elements 12 cannotbe reached and that it is practically an impossibility to unlock the binding devices 10 without removing at least a part of the contents of the crate.

lVhen the top and bottom are applied to the crate it is necessary to provide some means for holding them in place and the means which I have used consists of a horizontal wire 13 bent downwardly at each end with one end terminating in an upwardly turned hook l4 and the other end in an inwardly turned section 15. A device of this kind is applied adjacent each end of the top and bottom lying alongside the inner edges of the members 8, the hook 14 being first passed over a side of the binding wire 10 and then the section 15 being placed under the opposite side of the binding wire. This serves to hold the top and the bottom firmly in engagement with the other parts of the crate and also keeps the binding devices 10 at the upper and lower portions of the crate and adjacent the members 1, 2 and 5. If necessary, a staple may be driven into the members 1 and 2 firmly retaining those ends of the wires 13 which terminate in the inturned sections 15 against the members 1 and 2, and it will be evident that until the parts 15 can be disengaged from the sides of binding wires 10 it will be impossible to remove the top or bottom of the crate.

lVith a crate as thus constructed-the sides and ends may be placed together and the binding wires 10 applied thereto after which the bottom may be placed in position and the wires 13 applied thereto to retain it in place. The crate may then be filled with the articles which it is to carry and, if desired, the first row of said articles may be placed adjacent the bottom of the crate in smooth and even form after which the re maining articles may be put in indiscriminately. l/Vhen the articles reach their destination the crate may be reversed and the bottom removed, the articles thereupon making a smooth and even appearance.

It is one important feature of this invention that the crate is reversible, the top and bottom being identical in construction, and it is very easy to present the articles carried by the crate in attractive form without fur ther trouble than to exercise care in the placing of the first row of articles in the-bottom of the crate. It will also be observed that the cross members 8 of the top and bottom project a distance above and below the slats 9 attached thereto and that the crates may be stacked one above the other with the bottom members 8 of one crate resting on the top members 8 of the crate next below and that all the weight will be supported by the corners and ends of the crates irrespective of the height to which they are stacked. In this manner the articles carried by the lowermost'crate are not subjected to any weight whateverof the crates and articles carried thereabove. It will be also evidentthat when it is desired to place two or three crates .one above the other, the weight in such instance not being of great consequence, a crate may be turned so as to lie across the crate immediately beneath and the crates held from lateral movements by reason of the members 8 on the top and bottom respectively of the lower and upper crates in this manner formingan insurance against the accidental displacement of the crates with respect to each other.

From the foregoing it will be clear that I V have produced a knock down crate which may be made very cheaply and which will be very strong and durable. The sides and ends, top and bottom, of the crate will all be made of the same width stock and will require only the nailing together thereof. The devices by which the sides. ends, top and bottom are retained and held together are made very cheaply entirely of wire. The

crate when fastened together in the manner described is very rigid and there is no shakiness incidental thereto as in some collapsible crates having hinged corners. Fruit and other perishable articles may be readily shipped therein and it is an important feature of the utility of these crates that when stacked one above the other there will also be a space between the top and bottom of the stacked crates for the circulation of air. Also the spacing apart ofthe slats in the crate provides a ventilation for the articles, a feature of importance especially in the transportation of fruit. WVhen the crates have reached their destination and have been emptied they may be very quickly knocked down and returned occupying comparatively little space. There are no handles to be broken oil as with baskets. The interior is entirely smooth insuring against bruising and injuring of fruit and the fruit in. each crate is practically independent of the weight of the other crates when stacked one upon the other as 18 necessary in transportation.

I claim:

1. A crate including separable sides, ends, top and bottom,means for binding the sides and ends together andmeans for detachably connecting the top and bottom to said sides and ends including devices passing across said top and bottom and inserted through the sides of the crate and detachably engaging with the means binding the sides and ends together.

2. A crate including separable side, end, top and bottom members, each of said members being formed of spaced apart crate members with slats connecting the members, the ends of the slats terminating a short distance from the outer edges of said members, means to bind the sides and ends together and separate means for securing the top and bottom in place with the slats of said. side, end, top and bottom members forming a smooth interior for the crate.

3. A crate including separable sides, ends, top and bottom, means for detachably bind ing the sides and ends together consisting of a plurality of broken wire devices encircling said sides and ends and each having means for detachably securing the ends thereof together, and means for detachably securing the top and bottom to the sides and ends of the crate.

4. A crate including separable sides, ends, top and bottom, a plurality of broken wire devices encircling the sides and ends each having means to detachably secure the ends thereof together, and means for connecting the top and bottom to the crate, said means engaging with the said broken wire devices and holding them in position, substantially as described.

5. In a crate, separable sides and ends each formed of spaced apart horizontal members connected together by vertical slats and broken wire members encircling the sides and ends adjacent the horizontal members, said wire members having one end formed into a ring and the opposite end into a locking element passing through said ring. said locking elementlying on the inside of and extending vertically back of the adja cent horizontal member.

6. In a crate, separable sides and ends each formed of spaced apart horizontal members connected together by vertical slats, means for binding the sides and ends together, a top and bottom, and means for securing the top and bottom in position, consisting of wires extending across the top and bottom at each end and having angularly bent ends engaging with the sides of the crate, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER D. PEARCE.

Witnesses:

F. E. LIVERANCE, Jr., H. H. YARRINGTON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, D. C. 

